The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper
The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper is a 2005 American computer-animated short film produced by DreamWorks Animation. The 12-minute Madagascar spin-off features the adventures of four penguins, sometimes known as the Madagascar Penguins, who live in the Central Park Zoo and are trained as spies.[1]
| The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Gary Trousdale |
| Written by | Michael Lachance |
| Produced by | Teresa Cheng |
| Starring | Chris Miller John DiMaggio Tom McGrath Elisa Gabrielli Christopher Knights Bill Fagerbakke |
| Music by | James Dooley |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | DreamWorks Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 12 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The short premiered in theaters on October 7, 2005 with the stop-motion film Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. It was directed by animation veteran Gary Trousdale, produced by Teresa Cheng, and written by Michael Lachance.
Plot
Focusing on the Madagascar penguins and taking place before the events of the first Madagascar, the youngest penguin on the team, Private, slips out of the zoo on Christmas Eve to find a present for a lonely polar bear named Ted. While roaming the streets of Manhattan, he is captured by Nana (the aggressive elderly lady from the first film and second film) who mistakes him for a chew toy for her vicious dog, Mr Chew. The other three penguins, Skipper, Kowalski, and Rico, rescue Private from Nana's apartment before it is too late. They escalate into chaos against Mr. Chew, all-the-while, not noticed by Nana, who is occupied watching a football game. When they are done, they detonate the door with a stick of dynamite (which Rico had repeatedly attempted to use prior), finally attracting Nana's attention and leaving Mr. Chew to take the fall for what the penguins have done to her place.
At the end of the film they invite Ted to their home. But he has already invited several other guests, resulting in a massive sing-a-long to a parody of Jingle Bells.
Voice cast
- Chris Miller as Kowalski.
- John DiMaggio as Rico.
- Tom McGrath as Skipper.
- Elisa Gabrielli as Nana.
- Christopher Knights as Private.
- Hope Levy as an Additional Voice
- Rif Hutton as an Additional Voice.
- Richard Miro as an Additional Voice.
- Mitch Carter as an Additional Voice.
- Lynnanne Zager as an Additional Voice.
- Bill Fagerbakke as Ted the polar bear.
- Sean Bishop as the Doorman/TV Announcer.
- Frank Welker as Mr. Chew.
Soundtrack
The original music for the short was composed by James Dooley. According to Dooley, he was asked to score because he "had written all the music for the penguins in the feature length, Madagascar."[2]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8. | "He Looks So Bad" | Jim Dooley | 0:42 |
| 9. | "Where's The Private?" | Jim Dooley | 0:30 |
| 10. | "Analysis!" | Jim Dooley | 0:41 |
| 11. | "I am Walking Here" | Jim Dooley | 0:47 |
| 12. | "Good Boy" | Jim Dooley | 1:24 |
| 13. | "Help Me Guys!" | Jim Dooley | 0:26 |
| 14. | "Storking Stuffer Operation" | Jim Dooley | 1:36 |
| 15. | "Bad Dog" | Jim Dooley | 0:46 |
| 16. | "Jingle End" | Jim Dooley | 0:11 |
| 17. | "Jingle, Jingle, Jingle - Brian Setzer" | Jim Dooley | 1:49 |
| Total length: | 8:52 | ||
Home media
The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper was released on later DVD editions of Madagascar,[3] Shrek,[4] and Shrek 2,[5] all of which were released on November 15, 2005. It was released on Blu-ray on September 23, 2008, as a bonus feature attached to Madagascar.[6]
See also
Notes
References
- ^ Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 179. ISBN 9781476672939.
- ^ Zsolt, Biro; Kulics, Laszlo (June 24, 2006). "Interview with James Dooley". Filmzene.net. from the original on February 1, 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
- ^ McCutcheon, David (December 8, 2005). "Madagascar". IGN. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
- ^ "Shrek & Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper (DVD) (2001) (Region 1) (US Import) (NTSC)". Amazon. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
- ^ "Shrek 2 & Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper (DVD) (2004) (Region 1) (US Import) (NTSC)". Amazon. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
- ^ "Madagascar (Blu-ray)". High-Def Digest. October 1, 2008. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
External links
- The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper at IMDb